84 - Sierra Martinsen: I'm Here for the Journey

Join nursing student and Seattle, Washington native Honored Guest Sierra Martinsen as she explains the weird passage of time in nursing school, having two nuclear families, why she chose nursing, giving and receiving support in nursing school, who inspires her most in life, her love of travel (30 countries and counting), her incredible studying abroad experiences (Zambian nursing!), and more!

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Transcript

0:01

Hello everybody and welcome to this episode of the Feeding Our Young podcast. As of this recording right now, I've been off for a few weeks. I'd love to say I've been off from everything and on vacation and all the things, but no, I still work. I just work my other two jobs. And in the meanwhile, we've had nobody who signed up in the interim. We had a couple of wonderful honored guests that we had the privilege of recording in September. And this month we're up to a whopping six, which is fantastic. If everybody's like, I don't even have a frame of reference for that. Over the summer is where we sat down with 52 people over the course of just a couple of months. And so it was, we're talking three or four people a day, let alone one person a day. all that to say, why is he prattling on about the workings of the Feeding Our Young podcast? Here's why. Because I am sitting with the absolutely outstanding, Sierra Martinsen. and I'm not gonna give away her role. I'll let her do that here in a minute. But Sierra is one that I talked to way back when this little idea was a seed and I'm zipping around getting 30 second promo clips from other honored guests and students on campus and I was like, Sierra. You want to be on it? She goes, yeah, sounds great. So I have her 30 second promo clip from what feels like a lifetime ago, literally almost four and a half, five months ago. So here we are. She and I have finally made it happen. We're both here. Sierra, welcome to studio. How are you today? Thank you! I'm doing well and I'm so glad to be here. How are you doing? I am doing great, although not as Halloweened up as you as I understand. What did you do right before we got to talk? I went to a free showing of Coraline. I'd never seen it before, but it was very spooky. It was very cute, and it was a fantastic thing to do on a fall afternoon. and you know, at the time of this recording, so people are wondering, it's not Halloween yet, but we are in the middle of October, so ergo, spooky season. Yes, yes, yes, yes. So, Sierra, I'll let you just take the reins. Introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit more about yourself, where you attend, when you graduate, et cetera, et cetera. Absolutely. Yeah, so my name is Sierra. I am in my final semester at Gonzaga University doing nursing. Woohoo! Yeah, it definitely feels weird that graduation is right on the horizon. I've been in school for like ever, so I don't know what life is gonna be like when I'm not in school. But yeah, I'm from Seattle originally and that's where all of my family lives. And that's a little bit about me. Awesome. What you mentioned, I'm already going to throw you your first curveball here. Don't we call curveballs questions unprepared because you made me wonder. I just finished my recent rotation, the first half of the cohort of students that I've had in this semester. This is the first time we're really kind of recording whilst teaching and whilst learning, right? And we were talking about the fact that the old adage that the days are long but the years are short. And I told them, said, to give you perspective, listening audience, my students are in their second semester of their junior year. So they still have a full year to go before they are graduating. And so I just said, you know, it feels like the days feel like they're forever, but you're gonna, I promise you're gonna get to pinning, you're be like, my gosh. We're here. So, Sierra, can you confirm or deny the validity of this statement? I can absolutely confirm because it feels like, I don't know, yesterday that I was doing an OB rotation with you and then here we are a year later and I'm seeing you again for the first time really since then and I'm about to graduate and I can't believe that all that time has passed. I feel like I was just meeting you in the hospital and you know I was so nervous going into clinical and I don't know. Yeah, almost graduated. Almost about to have my first big girl job and all of that. It's crazy. Thank you. might also be the first student I've talked to that has finished practicum recently. Is that correct? Yes, I believe so. Yeah, I finished... How long has it been? I guess two weeks now. Which, yeah, I know. It was my life for like five weeks and it feels weird not to be going to the hospital three times a week. But yeah, I did my practicum and labor and delivery. I'm sure that you understand the feeling of falling in love with OB given that that's your home base, if you will. Yeah, and I absolutely loved it. Very, very cool. I suppose, and maybe we can even say, because I can't imagine there's anything else you have left to do in hospital for your education, so I think we can safely say the next time you step foot in a hospital in a nursing capacity, you're gonna be the one getting paid! I am so looking forward to that, yes. I know. Right? Yep. is just the intro. Dear Lord, this is gonna be a while. I love it. So before we get going too far, our two opening questions that I like to ask everybody. First and foremost, what are the three words you chose to describe nursing school? Mm-hmm. You know, I spent a lot of time agonizing over this question and trying to figure out how other people had answered it and what I thought was representative of my cohort and kind of what makes my cohort special compared to other ones. And the three words that I decided to go with were demanding, diverse, and supportive. those. We'll talk a little bit more about those at the end. And in the meantime, what are three of your favorite songs in life right now? Three of my favorite songs. You know, my answer that I'm going to give you today would probably be different than the answer that I would give you any other day. But I would say today I've been in a very Taylor Swift folklore Halloween cold, crispy autumn day kind of mood. So I would say Exile by Taylor Swift has to make the cut. I've also really been loving Is It Over Now by Taylor Swift and all of Sabrina Carpenter's new I can't choose. It's so good. So those have been on repeat. now see this is why it's fun. I'm not a Swiftie. For all the non-testosterone things that define me, being a male postpartum nurse and all the things, I don't fall into the camp of Swifties. That being said, well, I was gonna say that being said. Yeah. a fair shake and haven't tried. So this is also partially just for me to discover new music as well as our listeners. So I do give you, I give you my word. a listen. I think you will enjoy them. intriguing no is there like a like if I become a Swiftie is there something like do I get like a an actual membership card do I have to like dress a certain way or talk a certain way yeah you're like invited into the cool club. I love it, I love it. All right, well, enough about that. Let's dive into your story. And we'll start with just talking about you and your family. Would you like to talk to people about what your family looks like and if you have any other healthcare workers in your family as well? Mm-hmm, absolutely. My family is a little bit of a long story. I always like to preface with that because I'm about to throw a lot of information out there. All the juicy details. So long story short, my parents got divorced when I was four. And so I would say that my family is divided in two parts. I have my mom and my dad, and both of them are remarried. So I would live with my mom and my stepdad most of the time. My stepdad had also been married previously and had three kids in that marriage. And so I have three older step siblings. And then one of my mom and dad were together. They had my older brother and me. So I also lived with my older brother in that household. And then like every other week I would go over to my dad's house and I would live with my stepmom. And they ended up having two children. So I have two younger half siblings. total, there are... I have three brothers and two sisters and then me. So holidays are like a very big gathering, but the rest of the time it's more like two nuclear families that I kind of go back and forth between. Hmm. Is that something? I mean, if you don't mind my asking, like, how does that help you become who you are? Does that help inform what makes Sierra Sierra? Mm-hmm, absolutely. I think that both of the households were different in... just in like life stories and perspectives obviously and what people do for work and you know the way that people like to live their life and so I had four parents essentially and my stepmom is from South Korea and so I feel like I got a lot of like Asian influences from her and also just a very different life perspective than I would have gotten otherwise. My dad works at Microsoft and so he is like a big tech geek and I feel like he keeps me up to date with like all the cool innovative things going on that I'm very good at, you know, keeping up with just myself. Yeah, and then my stepdad, he traveled a lot when he was younger and traveling has always been something that's really important to him and so he was the one that started my whole family on all of these really amazing vacations and road trips and things that have really shaped me, I would say. And then my mom is an accountant and I feel like she is very type A, but she is my best friend. So I have all these different influences and I feel like I'm really just one big like mix of all of them. And I have older siblings, I have younger siblings, I have siblings my age, have siblings not my age. So there's just a lot going on. feel like, yeah, I, my perspective is very different than it would have been otherwise. Very cool. Something that, I mean, potentially could have been a huge negative. It sounds like it was a huge positive for you. Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome. So what are the things that, well, let me, sorry, any healthcare workers in your family? yes, no, not a single person in my family works in healthcare. So, yes. Yeah, it's been very interesting trying to come home at the end of the day and call my mom and stepdad about what I got to see and do at clinical and they're like, I don't really know. means but good for you, you know? Like trying to be very supportive and listening and all of that but also not really knowing anything about healthcare and not really wanting to know very much about healthcare. It's very different. Right? Yes. Yeah, pretty much. Well then, OK, so nobody else in your family's in health care. Then what made you want to become a nurse? Yeah, I would say there are two main things that kind of pushed me in the healthcare direction. One of them was that my mom advocated for me to join this board when I was in middle school after seeing this little newspaper ad that was called the Issaquah Youth Advisory Board. Issaquah is the neighboring town to where I'm from. And essentially it was a 40- student board. They had various subcommittees, one of them like planned events at the community center, we planned a triathlon, we volunteered at the food and clothing bank, so it was a lot of community involvement and the board that I ended up joining, or sorry the subcommittee, It dealt a lot with physical and mental health and kind of the relation between those two. And I learned so much from being on that board. And we also hosted this huge event each year called State of Mind. And we had speakers from the community come and they talked about like different areas of health, particularly things like depression, anxiety. And so I learned a lot about mental health and just the impact that mental health has on physical health. And so that got me very interested in healthcare and specifically the tie between the mental and physical, which I hadn't really learned very much about and didn't get exposure to that in school naturally. So yeah, that kind of kicked off my little healthcare journey. And so once I was in middle school, I was like, that's really cool. I think maybe healthcare could be where I could find my place. And then in high school, my high school hosted this little career fair and one of the stations had nurses come. And it was my first time ever meeting a nurse besides like going to my regular like annual physical and whatnot. Someone you can actually talk to and ask questions of. Yeah. someone I could ask questions of. That's a really good way to put it. And they had like IV fluids. They had this little fake arm situation with like an IV in it. They had tourniquets. They had like, I don't know, they had just all of this nursing equipment. And I thought that they were so cool and they just knew what they were doing. And it looked like second nature to them to do all these skills. And I was like, that is so cool. I want to be able to do that. And they talked a lot about how diaper is and just the number of opportunities available and that is how I settled on nursing. Awesome. That's amazing. That's a great story on how you got an interesting and I love this one. I honestly of the questions I ask the most often, that's one of my favorite ones because everybody has different stories and it's like, you know, you get those people that are like, I don't have a story. I just thought it was what was available and I went for it. And then you have others that are like, I had this person who took care of grandma and you know, I mean, it's everywhere in between. So I love that. So. one of my favorite things. sorry, actually listening to your podcast, just hearing everyone's story about how they got into nursing. Like, I don't know, we all have such a unique story and it's interesting watching all of us grow into like actually being nurses and looking up to certain nurses or people in our lives who have been in healthcare and then kind of transitioning into doing that role. It's been so cool to watch everyone grow. Yeah, and then to blow your mind. 10 years down the road, even less, when people are looking up to you. I mean, it's gonna happen in your first year. You're gonna have people who are gonna see you and be like, my goodness, this woman's amazing and what she does and da da. You're gonna be that person for somebody else. That's what I love about it. No pressure, I'm not trying to put that on you yet. Sierra's like, okay, thank you. So well then let's touch on that a little bit because some of the people who they became a nurse because they face certain challenges things of that nature That's obviously not your story. However Have you had any have you personally overcome any challenges whether they are in life or in nursing school? And if so, how did you work through those? be honest, I feel like I've lived a very privileged life and I don't think that I've had very many significant challenges that I've had to overcome. I think one thing, just as you grow up and especially as you go to college that I've dealt with that I think a lot of people deal with is just the big identity question and like who am I, what am I doing, where am I going, am I doing what I want to be doing? And I think along with that has come a lot of anxiety. I definitely think that I inherited my mom's type A personality. And so I really like, I like knowing things. I like having a definitive black and white answer. Which you know is like not good if we're going into nursing. There's no black and white answer in almost every situation. So yeah, I think that I've experienced that just trying to grow up and figure out who I am. And I think that Gonzaga has done a wonderful job of fostering different interests that I've had through clubs and through just meeting people on campus and getting to explore Spokane and getting to explore my hometown kind of in a new light when I go back for the summer. And then also just exploring nursing and having to be okay with not knowing everything and just, you know, throwing myself into new experiences and letting life take me where it takes me. So, yeah, I feel like it's been a slow process kind of learning how to view things differently and kind of change my mindset. And by no means a complete process either, Yeah. Yeah, I... I don't want to give it away, but yeah, it definitely happens by 30 years old. If you don't definitely know who you are and what you're doing in life and all the things... I'm just kidding. You know, I'm definitely just... That's it. By 30. That's it. No, I make that joke because it's like, you know, I just had a birthday this last week and I'm like... Mm-hmm. know, anytime you have a birthday, you just think about, okay, you kind of take a, mean, I don't know, maybe not everybody, but especially those that are nurses and are used to reflecting and used to, you all the things. You go, okay, let's take an account on the last year. What's the, you know, the year ahead and where am I at in life? And is this where I thought I'd be and all the things. And no, it's a continual process, right? Like that's the whole thing. I think by your 30s, you know, most people generally do have a decent idea of who they are. And by no means do I imply that you will know by your 30 everybody, but it takes a while and once you know that, man, then you just run with it. Then you get to just have fun with it. It's so awesome. Yeah, I'm definitely excited for that, but also I'm here for the journey. I think it's fun just to not have all the answers and just go live your life and see what sticks. Yes. Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Mm-hmm. and the uniqueness of your cohort. There is, I can't even, from the other side of the table, so to speak, or desk, or whatever metaphorical thing you want to throw out there, it's interesting to me seeing the personality and the feel and the mix of persons. that form each cohort. And it's just different, it's a different vibe. It doesn't matter who's in there. And well, I mean, it's really because of everyone who's in there, but I just love that. what I, enough about me, blah, blah, blah, blah. What do you, Sierra, what do you love most about nursing and nursing school? I would say my favorite thing about our cohort, I'll start there because again, that's what I started the podcast with. Might as well just do a little loop and go back to that. I feel like my cohort is particularly close and I think we're very supportive. One of the themes of this podcast is nursing and bullying and, you know, not always feeling welcome as a newcomer. And I was worried that that would be my experience in nursing school. And fortunately it wasn't. my cohort is really close and we're all about helping each other out and not knowing everything and not pretending to know everything and not making fun of people when they don't know something. So that has definitely been my favorite thing about my cohort, just feeling like I have friends everywhere, like even the people that I don't know that well. I feel like if I ever needed someone to go to that anyone could be that person for me. So that's been really special. And then nursing school, I really love how diverse it is. Again, I was the first person in my family to go into healthcare and so I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I had ideas of what I wanted to do. but I have loved doing a ton of different clinicals. I've loved going to different sites like hospitals and outpatient centers and like assisted living and all these different places that I haven't really had access to before and just learning what it means to be a nurse. And then getting to see a ton of different things, getting different hands-on experience everywhere I go, meeting a ton of people, seeing how different nurses like, you know, organizing their day and I don't know, feel like that's really grown my own nursing persona. And it's made me really excited to get to graduate and be one of those nurses. Yeah. yeah. No, that's amazing. I can vouch being on the other side of that. Your cohort is uniquely close, very supportive, and I love seeing that. Just on a selfish note, I am so amped for your guys' pinning ceremony because I've gone to two. One was because I was invited by one of my practicum students that I had as an employee now almost 14 years ago. And I went to that pinning ceremony and it just was like, it was the boost that Even I needed at the time to go, my gosh, yes, we are in such an honorable profession in the things we do. And I just loved it. And so, of course, had really no reason or ability, whether the reason came or not, no ability to go again until this last pinning ceremony. However, I didn't have a lot of direct contact with those students. So beautiful, felt like an outsider, but just kinda, you know what I mean, like taking it all in again. But you guys are the first cohort I got to teach. And now you guys are coming up in December. I am so excited for that bidding ceremony just to see you guys. excited for you to be there. It'll be so special to have all of our favorite professors and educators all in one building. And I've heard that it's the moment where you feel like you've made it. So I'm super excited. I cried at the one that I wasn't... I mean, just this last one and I'm like, this is gonna get ugly. So that's alright. This... The good news is this episode isn't coming out until long after that pinning ceremony. It'll be into next year. So we're good. We're fine. We're okay. my gosh. Okay, so enough about that. You know, your cohort is, like I said, all the things definitely inspirational. Who or what inspires you most in life? Ooh, cheesy answer alert, but yeah, I would say my mom and my stepdad. I feel like they really have been the two most foundational and key people in my life. And they're the ones who have formed a lot of my personality and a lot of my interests and who I feel like I've gotten to grow so much with and... I just know that like I am always home when I'm with them and I'm always loved when I'm with them And I also just look up to the way that they live their life. you know my Like I might not necessarily want to follow in their footsteps in terms of what they did for their career, but I feel like the way that they've spent their time and their money and just the way that they live their life is very inspirational to me. They spend a lot of time like traveling and just getting to meet people and they prioritize maintaining friendships and they've been fantastic parents, so I'm definitely inspired by the love that they give and the love that they welcome into their life and... Yeah, they really are just my favorite people and I really don't think that anyone else could inspire me more because they're the ones who know me best and that I know best. So yeah, I feel like it's harder for me to be inspired by people that I don't know, like celebrities, which I feel like is kind of a common answer, having some like author or some, you know, politician or something that you kind of look up to, but I've always kind of struggled with that. So yeah, definitely my parents. That's awesome. And I mean, you've already touched on it. I've said in this podcast before, you learn from your parents for better and for worse. You learn how to do things either by the right example or by maybe an example you don't necessarily agree with. But it sounds like you've had the fortune of having four parents who love you dearly and who have provided some form of amazing example for you. Yes. That's awesome. That's awesome. I've been very fortunate in that regard. So, we'll just open up this can now, because I know you're very passionate about it, and those who saw your 30 second promo clip know you're very passionate about it. But you mentioned how your parents travel and prioritize relationships and things of that nature. I am a homebody, and it drives my wife nuts. I get that from my father's side of the family, not calling out my dad. mean, I think my mom would have traveled more if she had the resources, but my dad is very much, he's happy to be at home. unless his wife drags him around places. So I kind of unfortunately have taken that on and I try not to. That being said, as I've gotten older there are places I'd love to go and there places my wife and I plan on going. But with the traveling, you also have traveled a few places. You've also maybe done some education in a few places that are not considered the United States of America. So let's start with the... statement. Okay. Yes, fun fact about myself. As of this past summer, I've been to 30 countries, which has been... How many can you name? Prattle off as many- Prattle off as many as you can remember. Let's go, let's go. So I guess starting close to where I live, Canada and Mexico are classics. I've also been to Iceland, which is so stunning. I've been to the UK or England, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Poland. I don't know if I mentioned Norway yet. Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia. So. Has a lot of stamps. Yes. Any, I mean, obviously it sounds like everyone could be your favorite destination, but any of them stand out to you for any reason whatsoever. Yes, I would say the two places that I studied abroad in have been just my favorite places ever. I think when you get to spend more time in one place, it really becomes almost like home. It's like a second home where you're welcomed into that community and you know people and you miss people in those places. So for me, that is Italy and Zambia. Italy and Zambia. You can get, I mean you could get farther apart, but man that's far apart. So let me, this is where I've talked enough. I've spent enough time flapping my gums. You get the mic now. And so tell us all about your passion about studying abroad, what that meant, maybe compare the two, how you got the opportunities, what did you learn. That's it, alright, shutting up now. Alright, just a short little question here. Yeah, so I knew going into college that I wanted to study abroad because my family had already taken a handful of trips abroad and I had the time of my life and I felt like it's really fantastic to get to go abroad and just get a new perspective and learn a lot more about another country and meet people from other countries. So I entered college knowing that I wanted to study abroad. And so I chose Gonzaga, ultimately, because they offer a nine semester program. So I knew that I would have one semester off where I could just go anywhere that I wanted to. And Gonzaga's flagship program is in Florence, Italy. And I thought that sounded so fantastic. I was like, sign me up immediately. So I went to Italy and while I was there, Gonzaga has its own campus. So I took a lot of just like art credits, history credits, global credits, philosophy. And I learned a lot about Florence the City and the importance of art and architecture in that city as well, which I never would have learned if I would have stayed in Spokane. So I'm forever grateful that I got to take those classes and go on field trips around the city and just, you know, casually go see like Michelangelo on a Wednesday afternoon, because why not? Yeah, yeah, just because I could. Wow. And while I was in Italy, I had a three-day weekend every single weekend. And so I also got to travel a lot of other places and I feel like it was a very fun study abroad experience. And then I did a homestay. So I also got to learn more about Italian home life and what it means to live, like actually live abroad and not just, you know, move abroad and live with a ton of Americans, but like live with an Italian person and see how she lived her life. So. That was incredible. Zambia was very different. Zambia was a five-week program that I had heard about because it's run through the leadership minor that I'm a part of. And I think it was like two or three weeks before I was set to leave Florence and I just was so heartbroken to have to leave and I just didn't want to go back home. I wasn't ready. And so it was kind of a spur of the moment. I checked what applications were open to study abroad elsewhere over the next summer because I was like, I don't have any plans yet. I'll just, you know, see what's out there. And my leadership program was hosting this five week trip to Zambia. And coincidentally, it featured one leadership elective that I needed and it also featured one English class and it was the very last English class that I needed and that I was planning to take over the summer anyways. And so I was like, well, I could go to Zambia and get that credit and, you know, go see more of the world rather than just taking it at home. Yeah. So I went to Zambia and it was incredible. was... It was a lot less about traveling to other places and more about being in that community. I had a little one week opening trip where I explored Zambia and I visited the Victoria Falls and I went bungee jumping and all this fun stuff. And I went on a safari. And then after that, I took this little bush plane that sat four people max over to Zambezi, which is a very rural town in the Northwestern district of Zambia. And while I was there, I got to shadow nurses and saw various units of that district hospital. And fun fact, that was my first time ever stepping foot in hospital. It was in Zambia. It was in Zambia. And seeing the nurses there, yeah. And I was very inspired. They were very autonomous because at the time that I was there, none of the doctors that worked at that hospital were on site. They were all at different hospitals around the district. And so it was literally the nurses running the show and treating everything and giving medications and putting in orders and it was all paper charting. So it was definitely a different experience than being in healthcare here in the United States. But I was so glad that I got to have that experience and yeah, shadowed nurses. It was so cool. Yeah. and I'm speechless. For anyone out there who is like me and is like, we're just living vicariously through you, that's okay, that's okay. You haven't been anywhere because of opportunity, lack of opportunity, or because you are a fellow homebody, this is why you wanna travel, right here. it was amazing. It definitely gave me a different perspective on healthcare and it was my first time ever learning about a socialized healthcare system as well. So it was interesting getting to learn more about healthcare policies and community health was a huge thing because not everyone had access to that hospital and couldn't make it there because they didn't have transportation. So I got to see how the nurses would go out in the community and do different initiatives around town. to try to get people vaccinated and you know all of those things that I think sometimes we take for granted here in the U.S. And I also spent quite a bit of time in this OB outpatient clinic and that was where I fell in love with OB. I had pregnant moms come and little newborns and they were so cute. Saw all the vaccines that they got. Learned a lot about breastfeeding and overall just like how to have a child and how to become a mother and motherhood was probably the most important role that women took on in Zambia. And it was really interesting learning more about that culture through the lens of healthcare and being a nurse. And how nurses really had to get on the level of the patients and address OB type concerns. Yeah. Sorry, how do I want to say this? just think it through. Yeah, and the nurses had to approach these mothers very differently. It was more of, not necessarily having pamphlets to give out and books and telling people to come back for follow-up appointments like we do in the United States. A lot of women couldn't come back at a later date and many women weren't literate. There were also two languages spoken in the community that I was in and so it wasn't... possible to have one pamphlet to just give out to everyone to read. And so the nurses did a really fantastic job of navigating the culture and really meeting those mothers where they were at. So that's something that sticks with me and something that I really want to implement in my future practice. I was gonna say, mean, right there, you got an upfront life lesson in something that hardly any of us Americans get to experience. And that's going to just, I mean, I can't even imagine what that's gonna do for your practice. It's just outstanding. yeah, they were incredible. And I'm a little bit sad that I don't get to go back now that I'm graduating nursing school, because I think that I would also view what those nurses were doing totally different now. You know, now that I have perspective on the American healthcare system, so. Hmm, sounds like a good life goal to sink some money and time into though. Okay, so when that happens, I've got you on the hook. You're willing to come back and tell us all about it, right? Yes. All right. Years down the road, hopefully this thing's still growing and doing its thing and you'll come back and let us know what is going on and what that's... And what that looks like, you know, on the other side of... Yep. so then I guess that kind of leads naturally into the following questions and I'll ask them both at the same time, answer them how you wish. But what areas of nursing do you hope to practice in if that hasn't already been well established and what are your plans after graduation? Yeah, I've mentioned OB quite a bit in this podcast episode already. I really adore labor and delivery. I originally was thinking that I wanted to go into the NICU and have more focus on babies. But after going to Zambia and seeing how the mothers cared for their children and just the importance of being there for moms as they navigate how to be moms and have a child and what that looks like, and really the lifestyle change that comes along with it. think that labor and delivery is where I see myself. I'm also really interested in oncology and so I'm not sure if that will play a role ever in my future. But I do plan to move back to the west side and find a job, scary as that is, hopefully a residency program. Labor and delivery would be ideal, but I'm trying to keep my options open and just opened my mind and my heart to whatever opportunities come my way. I feel like that's the best approach, right? Yeah. Yeah, get your- get my heart set on one thing and then have it not work out and be crushed, you know? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I know. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yep, I think that my nursing cohort has also taught me how important it is to have people around you that you feel really supported by and that you really like. So I think that's one of the main things that I'm looking for after I graduate in any job that I end up getting. And a shout out to anybody listening, that is one of the number one things you wanna look for. I personally will tell you right now, I would rather practice in an area I'm not passionate about, if they had a better team than going to somewhere that I'm passionate about that is just each woman, each man, each person, each nurse fending for themselves. Like no, you need that team, so. Yeah. Yep. say, Sierra, we'd come back around and talk about the three words you chose, but you did kind of touch on two of them already, which leaves just one super positive word. Which one was that one, and why did you pick it? yes, just ending on such a positive note with the word demanding. was gonna say, demand that you tell me what the last word is. dear. Yes, my goodness. I think everyone that I've listened to in the podcast so far has mentioned some variation of this word and I think that it's relatable to anyone in nursing school anywhere. But to be honest, I think to become a nurse you really do need to do a lot of things to get there, I would say, and to develop critical thinking and to learn more about the healthcare system. And as a result, there are just a lot of things to keep you occupied. during nursing school with like clinicals and lab and simulations and exams and classes and making care plans and having practicum and all these things. And it's really interesting because I think each semester I always walked away feeling like I learned so much because I was always doing all these things. And it was really awesome getting to grow in the classroom and then getting to go to clinical and then apply what I had learned. And so I feel like that kind of helps cement everything. But with that said, it was very challenging and it's hard to find time for hobbies and it's hard to find time for other people that are really important. important to you. And it's definitely been a challenge and I will be grateful to not be doing it come December and to get to focus on my job and growing in my practice and not necessarily growing in the amount of information that I have memorized. I love that perspective. I also love that you chose the word demanding as opposed to challenging. I mean, you've used both and they can be interchangeable. But when I saw that on your form, I thought, you know, that's a brilliant take on it because to be truly honest, it is challenging, but it's more than that. Like you have students that go, man, why is this so hard? Why is this so much expected? We had, you know, on our guests that maybe didn't quite make the cut, didn't quite pass the certain percentage they needed, or this, that, or the other. There have been students that have had to retake clinicals and all the, you know, in the annals of time, all these things. Why is this so challenging? Well, because nursing school does demand, it demands, I don't wanna say 100 % of you, because that's not what we've been preaching over these episodes, right? Everybody's like, you gotta have a life, you gotta do these things, you gotta, you know what mean. but it demands your full, 100 % of your attention. It demands 100 % of your effort. It demands 100 % of all of that in order to pass because when you become a nurse, you have lives in your hands and that fact by itself is very demanding. Your patients in a way demand your full concentration. They demand your full effort and your full attention. And so that's what I just, I love the fact that you chose that. over challenging. yeah. Yeah, I really liked that you just said that because I was between challenging and demanding and ultimately I decided to go with demanding because while nursing school is challenging, yes, it's a lot of the content is very new to you and complex. It's more than that. It's that you always have something coming up. You're always doing a ton of things at once and nursing school is supposed to prepare you for like time management after you graduate and I would say it does but it's it demands so much of you and so much of your time and attention and mental energy and physical energy and I felt like that was more all-encompassing than the word challenging. Yeah, love it. Sierra, bringing the truth today. Bringing the truth. So unfortunately, we'll wrap up with one last truth, and that is, if you can only give one piece of advice to fellow nursing students out there listening, what would it be and what? Okay, I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon here and say what everyone else has said because I think it's such an important message But your life should not stop when you are in nursing school. There are other things going on You are a very diverse individual. You have diverse interests. You have people in your life that you should Continue making plans with and hanging out with and seeking support from You're only in college for a very limited amount of time and I think it's important to live it up to the fullest and make sure that you're getting the college experience that you want to get and that you're growing as a person because that's going to help you in nursing school and as a future nurse. So don't lose sight of the fact that the world is still spinning. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And there's a world existing outside of the bubble that is nursing school. Hmm. Sierra, I can't thank you enough for taking time this afternoon after relaxing and watching a wonderful movie just to come and pontificate and wax eloquent about nursing and nursing school. So thank you so much. Yeah. so much for having me. I had a fantastic time chatting with you. Awesome, you have a lovely rest of your night my friend. Thank you. You too.